Prayer of the Dragon is the latest book by Eliot Pettison. In this one the ways of the Tibetans and the Navajos meet. I showed my five books of the Inspector Shan series to Roshi Joan and discovered that she was also a fan of the series and had read four of them.
So there are more books featuring Inspector Chan. That’s good news. I just started “The Skull Mantra” after you mentioned it here. A very nice read so far.
Thanks for tip, I’ve not heard of this series. You may be interested in a book I bought 12 years ago, “Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom, The Circle of the Spirit” by Peter Gold. Gold draws parallels between the Navajo (Dineh) and Tibetan Buddhists i.e. Navajo sand paintings and Tibetan sand mandalas. I’m going to re-read it. In fact in the foward of this work, is where I first heard of Gary Snyder. “The Tibetans and the Navajos each embody what the poet-philosopher Gary Snyder has termed “Old Ways.”
@Michael: Thanks. Eliot Pattison mentions that book by Peter Gold in a note at the end of the book! He does his research and his knowledge of Tibet and China and in this case Navajo culture is quite impressive.
I’ve read “The Skull Mantra,” and I’ve just started “Prayer of the Dragon.” I’m impressed by at least two aspects: that Pattison commitment to and exploration of the ways of Tibet have extended beyond the first novel, and that he has avoided sentimentality and wiftiness.
He has Shan think that the village of Drango “was a strange gray place in which the worst of both worlds was combined.” The remark’s clear-eyed unsentimentality impressed me.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home”
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/